Thanks all. Very interesting that you met the owner Loren.
Sea trial postponed due to some kind of liability concern with with an exhaust line rubbing on some rotating engine part (I'm told). I spent a good hour or so on the boat yesterday. My overall impression is that the list of to-dos is massive, and that she has suffered a bit of neglect. But still there is potential. (Seeing the pictures of all your beautiful boats is working in the seller's favor, as does the story of 14 knots of boat speed, which is not possible in my Peterson.) But at the same time I have to be realistic about the amount of time, energy and money I can devote given a demanding job and a broad range of family and household maintenance responsibilities.
How much simpler my life would be if I wasn't obsessed with boats.
Below is a poorly organized exposition for those with the stomach for it.
Yeah, I was doing the same math on the engine hours and scratching my head. The meter shows 5500 hours, and I confirmed that it is working properly. (There are some other hour meters on the panel that don't really work that created some confusion.) There are no recorded oil changes or zinc change, or as far as I can tell, ANY written records besides sharpie dates on an alternator and maybe a water pump. Instead, we have an oral history. I was accompanied by the guy who had done the maintenance and he says that he used to change the oil pretty regularly and the zincs. That's all we've got. This guy is a nice guy but pretty limited in his capabilities and understanding. But better than nothing I guess. The owner (now deceased -- boat is being sold by the widow who is out of town) was kind of his buddy from Newport Harbor, and I think the broker was part of this social circle. Apparently owner and the wife used to ride the train down from the bay area to sail and hang out on the boat. And yes, do lots of Newport Ensenada races. There is a basket of N-E patches that dates back to at least 1976 ! Obviously he started on a different boat, when I was a wee lad and Ford was president. But that was years ago, this boat was moved to Long beach then San Pedro for reasons that aren't clear, and as happens, the owners was in decline for a few years.
Here are a few of my amateur notes and thoughts, mainly for my own sake. I still haven't paid for the survey which exists and I can get for a discount. I guess it's time to get serious.
Overall cosmetic condition: Its not horrible for its age. But it's not like what the pictures on YW might suggest. There are scratches and dings, especially around the transom and in the cockpit. They don't have nice stainless dock line chocks like I'm used to, so the gelcoat has rubbed off near the stern cleats. But all in all it's a cosmetic upgrade from my Peterson. Sole and headliner are good. Headliner in fact is nearly perfect, which is a problem because there needs to be some new clutches put up on the deck I think. Sole was rebuilt some years ago by the maintenance guy and it looks pretty good Most interior wood is not bad, and could be refinished, with the exception of a couple places which need minor repairs. Ports and hatches could use replacement lenses and gaskets but seem serviceable. I appreciate the fresh air that my old boat doesn't have. Only major evidence of a sustained leak is by the aft cabin bulkhead, though I also see the many of the screws holding in the teak trim pieces around the cabin top / side corners are corroded -- not gonna be fun getting them off. There is a sense of dampness in the aft cabin in general, so that be something that needs to checked out. The whole boat has that kind of carpet on the hull walls that Loren took out with great effort. It's not real pretty. But, it's not coming off any where, and I wonder if a steam cleaning with my little portable bissell unit could help. Cushions are shot -- both foam and fabric. This boat was used. And they didn't do a great job of cleaning the nav station and other little places. I guess when the broker is operating on the minimum, they don't have much incentive to get serious about cleaning. But that's an easy fix.
Sailing hardware: The sails are completely toast. The jib's UV protectant on the outside of the furled sail was streaming back in tatters from the forestay in the afternoon breeze, and a short unfurl shows a pretty rough condition for the sail itself. Didn't check the main, but I think it is pretty beat as well. 3 spinnakers on board but only 1 looks like it might still be useful. Running rigging all needs to be replaced -- it looked like are running two different sizes of jib sheets port and starboard, perhaps evidence of trying to pseudo-rig for to help make the sale. There are only 5 clutches on board, 3 port, 2 starboard, but 2 or 3 of those need new handles so are not serviceable. They're not the highest end, and my preference would be to mount new ones, if I can figure out how to do that without destroying the headliner. Seems like one would want at least 8 (4 halyards, vang, outhall, 1st & 2nd reef). I didn't check the rigging in the boom. Some of the little cam cleats on the side of the cabin top are toast -- again how to get access to the deck underneath these? Hydraulic backstay adjuster doesn't work right, but can create tension with enough pumping -- so might just need fluid. Masthead windex is torqued about 90 degrees (how does that happen?). But the good news is that I'm told the standing rigging was replaced a few years ago, as the boat was leaving Newport to come north. But again no records of this. It does look pretty fresh, but didn't seem quite as beefy as what is on my Peterson. I better check the gauge I guess. The stainless plate at the base of the mast looks good, and all of the old schaefer blocks spin (an aspect I had to cope with on my boat.) The 4 winches all seem to turn and click pretty well. I'm sensitive to this after having serviced about 6 of the 10 winches on my old boat !
Engine / shaft / prop: I am still trying to learn about this. The broker was talking about how easy it would be to re-power, based on some kind of diagnosis. That may be premature. There is some blow by, and I think they didn't have the crank case vent connected back a year ago when it was smoking in the cabin. But this time it seem so bad. The old Universal may have some life left. It seems to want a good dose of glow plug (60 seconds -- does this sound right? My old Yanmar in the 78 Peterson fires up every time almost instantly even after sitting for a month, so I am not used to glow plugs.) But once running, it seems OK. (I should have been outside looking for smoke, but instead I was inside) The transmission has a bit of trouble shifting into reverse, and I think there needs to be some alignment adjustments, but I not convinced a repower is critical yet. I'm told the folding prop needs service. I'm a fan of a folding prop but I don't know much about the modern models. Not sure if it is an old Martec or something else, but I was told it could be serviced somehow.
Electrical: They have put in new batteries repeatedly I think because of a bad battery charger that had overcharged somehow. An example of how $200 and an hour's could have saved much more money. Once they figured out that the batter charger was the problem, they actually had the guy coming to turn on the charger for an hour, or run the engine every ~week to charge the batteries, even though it's plugged into shore power. (!). The charger looks like something from the 60s -- large aluminum box with a rotary dial up under the laz forward -- maybe that was stock? I wished I'd taken a picture. He said that he came back a couple times after being away and it was pegged at full current ! So maybe it's not inconceivable that something wasn't connected right and the hour meter got some juice at some point? Instruments seems like they may be original -- round Datamarine units that turn on but don't seem to work properly. There is an ST4000 autopilot that might work, but you can't see the screen. There is a GPS mounted to the binnacle, which I'm told was used to good effect.
Plumbing: Head seems to pump OK. There are some odors in the head -- I'll probably need to replace hoses. I don't know if the overboard discharge works, or the condition of the tank. The Y valve at least seemed to turn. Water heater is toast, and the lines have been disconnected from the engine. But they still run water through the hot water circuit, which has a leak somewhere, so the pressure water can't be left on, or else it will fill the bilge. I figure I will be able to at least find and eliminate the leak in short order, but replacing the water heater will take some straining and groaning. That can wait I guess. One thing that seems crazy to me is that the starboard settee water tank doesn't seem have a fill port on the deck. They take a hose down into the boat to fill the tank. I guess that must have been standard.
In short, it could be a nice blank canvas. I will say that it was nice to come back to my boat afterward, with its new sheets and halyards, clean canvas, and the confidence that certain things at least are working properly. But it can only take me so far.
Much to think about in the coming couple week, one of which I will be on vacation with the family. Sea trial might be a week from this Sunday.
Thanks for reading.
